STATEMENT OF
CAPTAIN TERRY MCVENES
EXECUTIVE AIR SAFETY CHAIRMAN
AIR LINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION, INTERNATIONAL
BEFORE THE
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Good afternoon and thank you for the opportunity to
outline the Air Line Pilots Associationís views on aviation safety and the role
we play in protecting the traveling public. ALPA is the world's largest pilot
union, representing more than 60,000 pilots who fly for 42 airlines in the U.S.
and Canada. ALPA was founded in 1931, and for more than 76 years, ALPA has had a
tremendous impact on improving aviation safety. Today, ALPA continues to be the
worldís leading aviation safety advocate, protecting the safety interests of our
passengers, fellow crewmembers, and cargo around the world.

Over the past 10 years, the
U.S. aviation industry has seen a 65% decrease in the accident rate, and as a
result, the U.S. safety record is the envy of the rest of the world. Much of our
success is due to the collaborative approach that has taken place among airline
managements, labor, and the FAA in the voluntary collection and analysis of
de-identified safety related data. By analyzing recorded data obtained during
routine flight operations and receiving written reports from the front line
employees in a confidential and non-punitive environment, we can not only see
what is happening, but also why it is happening. Today, these
stand-alone safety programs at individual airlines are reaching their maturity.
That is a reflection of the dynamic nature of any data collection effort Ė it
must adapt to changes in the environment; in this case, the changes in the
aviation industry.

As safety professionals
continue to see value in these programs and work with them in more detail, it
has become clear that even more can be learned by sharing safety information
among the various stakeholders in the industry. The FAA and the airline
industry, including ALPA, continue to work together on developing a formalized
process in which safety information can be accessed through secure networks
under mutually agreeable rules of engagement. ALPA has been working closely with
the FAA, NASA, and the airlines to develop a process that will make this safety
information available to decision makers to help them in their efforts to manage
risk. This process is also invaluable in the sharing of accident- and
incident-prevention strategies across the industry. Again, though, I would point
out that as time goes on, the industry continues to refine our processes for
maximizing the safety benefits that the traveling public receives from
collecting data while at the same time protecting those employees and airlines
that bring the data to the table.

NASA, especially through the
Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) program, has always been an important
player in aviation safety. Its human factors research, in particular, has
provided great value to our industry. The National Aviation Operational
Monitoring Service (NAOMS) survey was part of the early effort to provide more
information to help all of us improve aviation safety. This first survey was a
test of the process and methodology. We understand that the data extracted from
this survey were summarized and those summaries were shared with the government
and industry. As in any first test, the data didnít correlate very well with
data from other sources, possibly due to the mix of general aviation and airline
operations. The aviation community had plans to further analyze those
discrepancies and determine if the data were reliable, but funding for NAOMS ran
out. That is when ALPA stepped in to help keep the project alive as a part of
our involvement with the Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST). While we have
been working with CAST to modify the survey, we did not receive any of the
collected data from NASA.

What should happen to the data
now? Several solutions are available. One that makes a lot of sense is to
provide NASA with the necessary resources so that it can complete a peer review
of the data and then analyze the data, while at the same time maintain the
confidentiality and protective provisions that apply to voluntarily supplied
safety information. Other solutions may also exist.

Regardless of the solution, it
is important to keep in mind that raw data, distributed without appropriate
analysis and scrutiny to ensure its validity, can lead to unintended
consequences. Incomplete or inaccurate conclusions can be reached if the
collection method is flawed or if people looking at the data arenít familiar
with aviation or the context of how that information was provided. No one knows
and understands the data better than the stakeholders that provide the data in
the first place. That is why it is so important that those stakeholders work
closely with the analysts of the data. This will ensure accurate and meaningful
conclusions can be reached.

Just as importantly, if raw
data are simply distributed to the general public without the quality controls
Iíve mentioned, it would undermine the confidence that pilots and the airline
community have that voluntarily and confidentially supplied safety data will
remain secure. As an airline captain, and one who represents the safety
interests of 60,000 other airline pilots, Iím concerned that this could very
well erode the very programs that have driven the excellent safety record of
airline travel that the public has come to rely on.

Thank you, again for the
opportunity to testify today. I will be pleased to address any questions that
you may have.